Bring yer laptop to Burning Man @ Firestarr's camp

[kennerb]

i went to BM in 2003 with complete skepticism about it being a hippie drum circle fest.....it ended up being one of the best and weirdest experiences of my life (and i don't impress easily at all) I don't think anyone could NOT have an amazing time at burning man. I would recommend anyone from any walk of life to go at least once, it will give you inspiration and memories for years to come

Word. Thanks for the offer. A friend gave me a ticket and I haven't been for a while. Figured I needed a reality fix. I'm helping with a huge theme camp and have a project that needs my laptop but was concerned. I still have shoes and bikes from several years ago that have playa dust on them. Don't want my lappy to look the same

A few years ago I hung out with a republican Emergency room director and a 75 year old farmer in overalls and everything. So there is definitely all kinds of folks there.

[Pitch Black]

Hope y'all will send us back lots of stories and pix!!!!

(...NEXT year in the holy land)

[colin_h]

i saw this t-shirt once that said-

"I DON'T CARE WHAT YOU DID ON THE PLAYA"


looks kinda fun, tho...
one of those maybe next year
things, like Movement in detroit,
WEMF in ontario, Mutec in montreal....
i need more money!

[Machinesworking]

The Playa....

I cannot stand that name, fucking drives me nuts. It is so entirely white bread trying to be cool. I live in seattle and my neighborhood is filled with people who worship Burning Man the same way dead heads used to try to convince anyone who talks to them for more than ten seconds about how Grateful Dead concerts where these spiritual experiences etc... Seriously right now there is a meeting going on in the local coffee shop that is held every week, to discuss this contraption they are building for BM.
My parents were hippies, we lived without electricity for five years, on welfare, the whole bit. How much is it now $200+? To get there is another $200+, supplies are at least that as well..... What I'm getting at is it's an artificial situation populated by people with disposable income only, basically the middle and upper class.

Besides, of any time of year to go into a desert, they pick fucking August? No thanks....

[montrealbreaks]

What I'm getting at is it's an artificial situation populated by people with disposable income only, basically the middle and upper class.

Yeah - my buddies who want me to go are these totally upper middle class dudes with graduate degrees and professional jobs. They're cool guys and all, but they're so... How can I say this...

They're so wannabe avant-garde, and it's their titilating little secret, you know? Their only interest in electronic music is that it's an opportunity to do some drugs when they go out partying, and pick up some tattooed chicks. Essentially, they're both a couple of notorious consumerist, mysoginist professionals masquerading in "leftie artsy spiritualist" clothes...

The fact that these guys are so strongly endorsing Burning Man to me tells me that the whole thing may have been worth it to go to 10 years ago, but today I imagine that there's lots of dudes and gals there who simply talk the talk but don't walk the walk. If I were to go, I would be just another one of those wannabes/posers that I think would make it not worth going.

Did that make any sense?

I guess I would have gone in '96 if I had heard of it then, but it's too late for me now. Besides, I don't do drugs and I think I wouldn't be able to 'connect' with a lot of people there.

[Rahlo]

The fact that these guys are so strongly endorsing Burning Man to me tells me that the whole thing may have been worth it to go to 10 years ago, but today I imagine that there's lots of dudes and gals there who simply talk the talk but don't walk the walk. If I were to go, I would be just another one of those wannabes/posers that I think would make it not worth going.

Did that make any sense?

I guess I would have gone in '96 if I had heard of it then, but it's too late for me now.

Man, that sounds so much like hip hop. Something gets started as a grass roots thing, peeps take notice and participate in droves, then it becomes the cool "avant-garde" thing to be a part of, then gets diluted by said wannabes and posers.

Embarassingly, I'd never heard of it til about a year ago. A guy was giving a seminar that I was attending, and used a story from BM (ha!) to illustrate one of his points. I don't even remember the story or the point, I just remember thinking after he'd explained BM, "I have got to go check this event out one day!" And then, somewhat serendipitously,the subject gets raised on your friendly neighborhood live user forum.

I still don't know much about it, though I did google it earlier today and read up on it a little. Anyway, I can't go--I checked the date and I have a show at Langley Air Force Base on the 28th of this month. I might try to hit it next year.

[Machinesworking]

They're so wannabe avant-garde, and it's their titilating little secret, you know? Their only interest in electronic music is that it's an opportunity to do some drugs when they go out partying, and pick up some tattooed chicks. Essentially, they're both a couple of notorious consumerist, mysoginist professionals masquerading in "leftie artsy spiritualist" clothes...

Are you sure you live in Montreal? You just described 90% of the people in Seattle.
I hear you big time. One of the really irritating things about music and art in general, is that it's rare when a genre or style of art is left alone, eventually if it's popular at all, it attracts women who admire the art/music, then come the frat boy types.........> If you express distaste in the genre for becoming pop culture, dumbed down, and faded, people accuse you of being elitist..... you can't win.....

[rajcoont]

It's great to pass judgement on something you didn't have the time/money/balls to go to, but don't presume the feral's you see organizing their art car at the cafe on your street are indicative of the majority of people who go to burning man; thats only a small percent of burners.....i met more interesting and inspiring people in 7 days at burning man than i have in my life. I went with a few people who sound like some of the above posters-condescending negative and nihilistic-and they still had a glow in their eyes by the time it was over...i repeat that i cannot imagine anyone from any walk of life not having an incredible time there

Burning man is not something i'm interested in participating in outside of that one week of the year, and i think burners whose day to day lives centre around it are incomplete, but that doesnt detract from my belief it's one of the most positive events in this day and age. I salute anyone with the wherewithal and motivation to make something happen out of nothing...it's better than posting to forums why people who go are assholes

[rasputin7]

Yeah, I'd have to agree with you on this one. I had a phenomenal time a couple years ago, after SF pals tried for years to get me to join their little BM tribe. Finally went and it really did live up to the billing. I haven't been back b/c it *is* expensive and essentially desert camping under some potentially harsh conditions. And I sure wouldn't want to bring much (any?) gear out there, but I have some friends/musicians who are going (again) and planning a big sound installation. It can definitely be a very cool experience...almost for anyone, I'd say. But it's work too and not a vacation setting in the traditional sense, to be sure. Being almost 40, I do roll my eyes at some of the excess, and some of the stuff seems a little precious, but in my experience there was indeed a lot of magic happening out there too.

It's great to pass judgement on something you didn't have the time/money/balls to go to, but don't presume the feral's you see organizing their art car at the cafe on your street are indicative of the majority of people who go to burning man; thats only a small percent of burners.....i met more interesting and inspiring people in 7 days at burning man than i have in my life. I went with a few people who sound like some of the above posters-condescending negative and nihilistic-and they still had a glow in their eyes by the time it was over...i repeat that i cannot imagine anyone from any walk of life not having an incredible time there

Burning man is not something i'm interested in participating in outside of that one week of the year, and i think burners whose day to day lives centre around it are incomplete, but that doesnt detract from my belief it's one of the most positive events in this day and age. I salute anyone with the wherewithal and motivation to make something happen out of nothing...it's better than posting to forums why people who go are assholes

[Machinesworking]

.i repeat that i cannot imagine anyone from any walk of life not having an incredible time there

but in my experience there was indeed a lot of magic happening out there too.

Some of us don't care for that kind of thing, that's all. I do not enjoy tribal events of any kind, period. I don't like feeling like I'm part of a great positive event etc.
I've met plenty of interesting amazing people outside of BM, and I will continue to. The more people try to convince others that BM is this amazing event blah blah blah, the more I think "deadheads"....

But hey, I'm not trying to convert anybody, if you like it, great.

[montrealbreaks]

It's great to pass judgement on something you didn't have the time/money/balls to go to, but don't presume the feral's you see organizing their art car at the cafe on your street are indicative of the majority of people who go to burning man; thats only a small percent of burners.....i met more interesting and inspiring people in 7 days at burning man than i have in my life. I went with a few people who sound like some of the above posters-condescending negative and nihilistic-and they still had a glow in their eyes by the time it was over...i repeat that i cannot imagine anyone from any walk of life not having an incredible time there

Burning man is not something i'm interested in participating in outside of that one week of the year, and i think burners whose day to day lives centre around it are incomplete, but that doesnt detract from my belief it's one of the most positive events in this day and age. I salute anyone with the wherewithal and motivation to make something happen out of nothing...it's better than posting to forums why people who go are assholes

Dude, I'm not trashing the real BM guys n' gals, I'm just saying the people I would go with are posers - and I would be a sad poser too if I went. I WOULD go if I could have been there 10 years ago, but now I don't see the need anymore - My perception of it is that it would be too diluted. I fully admit that I may be wrong in my perception, but it is too much of an immense logistic, financial and scheduling nightmare that if I am going to spend a week off of work, I want to do something I KNOW I will enjoy - not something that other people tell me I might dig... People who don't usually hold the same values I do.

That said, I don't think I ever slagged the Burning Man folks who try to keep it real in any of my posts... and if I did, I assure all that it was unintentional.

[neuronaut]

I've got to say that BM is fucking hard core. If you aren't hard core you will die out there due to thirst, heat, flame thrower or other feats of stupidity. There's a reason why the ticket mentions that they are not responsible for your death. If you haven't been, you have no idea what you're talking about. It isn't a hippie thing at all, but if you don't want to go, maybe you should just stay home and watch TV. I've been most years since '97 and it just gets better for me everytime.

[tekkers]

i first heard about burning man about 5 years ago - a friend of mine was going from ma town in the uk...

i was really interested in going - then a few months before i dislocated my left knee - i didnt really think it would be a good idea for me to hobble about on crutches in the desert - so i missed out.

ma friend ended up having an hour long channel 4 documentary made about her trip - all she did was run around naked on acid for a week shaggin complete strangers!! - sounds great fun..

but i woulda had a hella job tryin to explain that to ma parents - and i'm sure ma boss would have been less than impressed..

[kennerb]

I've got to say that BM is fucking hard core. If you aren't hard core you will die out there due to thirst, heat, flame thrower or other feats of stupidity. There's a reason why the ticket mentions that they are not responsible for your death. If you haven't been, you have no idea what you're talking about. It isn't a hippie thing at all, but if you don't want to go, maybe you should just stay home and watch TV. I've been most years since '97 and it just gets better for me everytime.

Word! I say as my hands try and recoup any moisture my home environment will give them. I got hang nails with hang nails on them and I have just about every inch of my body scraped up from doing heavy construction and lifting in a very harsh environment with far to little protection on my body. I had socks on though I've been going off and on for years. I really don't give a rats shag about who does and does not like the event or what they even think it is. It's different things to different people. And I really don't care if people think it is getting (insert word here , i.e. trendy, commercial, tame, hippyish). My feeling is that the more people that get together to share ideas and play hard the better chance we have of controlling our lives and not letting the Corporate machine dictate. I don't even want to get into politics about it I only want to be able to live my life to the fullest without having to fill out a 20-3a section c form to do it. nuff said. See you fellow burners next round. or maybe some decomp around the northwest. Seek truth and happiness!